Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Havelock North chiropractor censured and fined for failing to keep records

Hawkes Bay Today
17 Dec, 2017 09:58 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Melissa Vetter was operating in Havelock North as a chiropractor. PHOTO/FILE

Melissa Vetter was operating in Havelock North as a chiropractor. PHOTO/FILE

Over nine years, a Havelock North chiropractor failed to take adequate notes 7156 times - failures which could place "the public at risk and lower standards in the profession."

Dr Melissa Vetter has been censured and fined $20,000 for professional misconduct, which occurred while she worked at Havelock North Chiropractic from 2007 to last year.

Inadequate records of patients shared between the two included notes stating "on the improve", "much improved", "more falling!!!!", "cough cough cough", "gardening!!!!", "was hit in the jaw".

The findings against her were released today after a New Zealand Health Practioners Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in Napier on October 18.

Dr Vetter was charged with professional misconduct by a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) of the New Zealand Chiropractic Board, which alleged she conducted herself in an inappropriate and/or unprofessional manner on two matters.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The first referred to failing on numerous occasions to create clinical records for her chiropractic patients. The second was failing to record an adequate patient assessment on numerous occasions.

Concerns arose around late 2013 or early 2014 about Dr Vetter. Over nine years between 2007 and 2016, there were 7156 instances in which a patient was seen by Dr Vetter, and no clinical notes were recorded.

The decision states she admitted for the majority of patients she did not create any clinical record whatsoever, despite also acknowledging she had a professional responsibility to record a patient's progress, including clinical presentation, examination data, and the treatment provided at each appointment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On occasions Dr Vetter and her colleague Dr John Hawtin would see each other's patients. He became concerned Dr Vetter's patients' notes did not contain sufficient information to enable him to do a proper assessment, or to continue with treatment.

He raised these concerns informally on a number of occasions.

It was also found that a number of Dr Vetter's patient notes were incomplete, or "substandard", and did not contain enough information for Dr Hawtin to do a proper assessment.

This included an occasion in June 2014 when he raised concerns she had not maintained or recorded any x-ray measurements, factors, or dosages for the previous year.

In September 2014 Mr Hawtin provided emergency care to one of Dr Vetter's patients and found only one record containing the word "improved" for the previous eight appointments.

In December 2015 Dr Hawtin made a complaint to the New Zealand Chiropractic Board about his concerns.

The decision states he said he had no understanding why Dr Vetter chose not to keep records, or to keep inadequate of substandard records. Their record keeping system was electronic and readily available.

The decisions states there had been a "clear failure" by Dr Vetter to create adequate clinical records, and to record adequate patient assessment.

"The severity of this aspect is aggravated by the fact that Dr Hawtin drew the inadequacies to Dr Vetter's attention but she did nothing to improve things," the decision states.

These failures placed patients at risk, including that she would be relying on her memory, or might not be addressing all of the questions needed to for a proper consultation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There was malpractice and negligence on Dr Vetter's part in these failures and
they constitute acts and omissions which bring discredit to her profession."

"Dr Vetter needs to know, and the profession needs to know, that failures of this kind place the public at risk and lower standards in the profession."

The tribunal ordered Dr Vetter be censured. It also ordered a number of conditions were to apply to Dr Vetter's practice.

These included supervision of Dr Vetter as a chiropractor for 18 months - at her cost by a supervisor nominated or approved by the New Zealand Chiropractic Board - with the supervisor reporting to the New Zealand Chiropractic Board at least 3-monthly with express focus on note-keeping and to take courses on note taking.

Dr Vetter was also ordered to contribute $20,000 towards the costs of the PCC and of the tribunal - $13,333 to the PCC and $6,666 to the tribunal.

She left the centre in March 2016 to relocate her chiropractic practice to premises where she had already established a Pilates practice.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Council votes to trial opening Splash Planet next winter - without the pools

27 Jun 03:04 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Rocket Lab launches 67th rocket, prepares for next in 48 hours

26 Jun 11:05 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Motorsport legend slams NZ's plan to remove full licence driving test

26 Jun 10:17 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Council votes to trial opening Splash Planet next winter - without the pools

Council votes to trial opening Splash Planet next winter - without the pools

27 Jun 03:04 AM

It'll run at a reduced entry price, with no pools open.

Rocket Lab launches 67th rocket, prepares for next in 48 hours

Rocket Lab launches 67th rocket, prepares for next in 48 hours

26 Jun 11:05 PM
Motorsport legend slams NZ's plan to remove full licence driving test

Motorsport legend slams NZ's plan to remove full licence driving test

26 Jun 10:17 PM
Hawke's Bay councils set rates rises - ranging from 5.2% to 15%

Hawke's Bay councils set rates rises - ranging from 5.2% to 15%

26 Jun 09:40 PM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP